Shattered Pride
by CUtopia
Summary: Minerva McGonagall has a ghost of her past that is still influencing her after all these years...


How Minerva McGonagall became obsessed in Gryffindor winning the Quidditch Cup over Slytherin (including some MM/AD-fluff 3 )

So, I was strolling around and read about Minnie err, Minerva playing Quidditch in her youth (there is also a Quidditch medal with the name McGonagall, but allegedly it is not her who is meant) and that she was shattered in her pride in her last year at school – so, here is my version of how this game went...

Oh, and don´t wonder about a teenage Dumbledore in here, I just don´t like the thought of a student-teacher-relationship, it´s easier for me to make him younger!

So, I hope you all enjoy this piece and leave me your opinion afterwards! Cheers! :)

* * *

"Come on, come on! Just grab that damn Quaffle from that troll and throw it!", Minerva McGonagall, transfigurations teacher at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, cursed, waving one arm towards the bunch of the Quidditch players in the air. "Beat that damn snakes, come on!"

It was the final game of the Hogwarts League, the game deciding over the winner of this years Quidditch Cup, once again between Gryffindor and Slytherin – like literally every year. And right now, Gryffindor was playing so bad that Minerva would have loved to cry if she had not had that Gryffindor pride inside her. She even wished she could jump on some broom and turn that damn game around, to show them how one really played some good Quidditch!

"It seems like your team is not willing to win the Cup, according to their attitude towards the game", Severus Snape snarled while leaning forwards with a satisfied grin. Minerva shot a dark look at him, grumbling:"Oh, just shut up, Severus and go on watching Rolanda! You will see what you will get in the end! THROW IT!"

Albus Dumbledore gently placed his hand on her forearm, giving her a calm smile while he spoke:"It is once again remarkable how you loose control over your temper when Gryffindor is playing. My dear, this incident cannot be in your head after all this time! It has been over 50 years since then and don´t you always say that one should be able to accept a lost game with grandeur?"

"NOT in Quidditch!", Minerva hissed, shooting her a furious look before she turned her head to the game again, obviously working hard to control herself so she would not grab the megaphone from the announcers hands. Albus smiled and made no other attempt to calm her down, thinking about the incident that had triggered Minerva´s unforgiving attitude towards Quidditch games between Gryffindor and Slytherin...

_Minerva McGonagall sat down at the Gryffindor house table, already fully dressed into her red flying robes and grabbed a glass of pumpkin juice which she downed in a few gulps. Next, she grabbed a piece of toast from the plate of her best friend Albus Dumbledore who was acting as if he did not notice the theft as he studied the Daily Prophet. One soon learned that Minerva was not in the mood for a nice chat when she was mentally preparing herself for a Quidditch game – it could result in a broken nose as he had discovered on his own body lately. He turned to look at her face to figure out how she was doing right now, always able to duck away if she had the intention to punch him while she sat down on the bench next to him. On daily basis she hardly let her temper take control of her, but Quidditch was another thing – it was about pride and reputation! Therefore she often lost it when a game was coming up and now that it was THE game of the term she was tensed like never before._

_As he found it relatively safe he took his glass from her to refill it while she patted her fingers on the wooden table in a fast rhythm, chewing the last bite of toast._

"_Eggs, my dear?", he asked calmly, letting his eyes twinkle in a irresistible manner – at least he hoped it was meeting his intention, otherwise he could be moving on thin ice right now._

"_Yeah...", Minerva growled and spent some time glaring over to the house table of Slytherin until Albus put a plate in front of her. As she felt his concerned look on her she turned, saying loudly:"I am okay! Really!"_

"_Good. I was just worrying", he smiled while she hurried to eat the eggs that he had given to her, then she stood up._

"_I need to get my broom. See you afterwards!"_

"_Good luck, captain!"_

_She gave him a grin for the very first time, maybe a angry grin because of the task that was ahead, but still a grin:"Thank you, Head Boy."_

"_And the players are in the air! McGonagall grabs the quaffle for Gryffindor, passes it to Wood – now to Rook, again Wood and McGonagall and GOOOAAAAL, 10:0 for Gryffindor within the first minute, man, do I have to say that these chasers are fast?!"_

_The scarlet-golden side of the stadium cheered and Albus smiled as he saw how Minerva raised her fist before she raced on to take the quaffle from the Slytherin chaser. Even without a victory she would be the best captain the team had had in about two centuries. Their goal rate was higher then ever and their tactics were remarkable. He had heard that the Headmaster was thinking about a honor medal and he was completely agreeing – not only because Minerva was his best friend and the fact that he hadalittlecrushonher. As he was trying to kinda hide this from himself he had never told her about his feelings._

Albus pulled himself out of his thoughts for a brief moment, watching Minerva as she acted with the same strength and intensity as in her youth and he believed that she, who had already been a remarkable appearance with 17, had grew to be more beautiful with the years. Age did not seem to harm her, even when she sometimes said that she was feeling it and that she believed that she wasn´t beautiful anymore – how could she dare to lie like this? For him, there were two occasions on which she was even more beautiful: when she smiled and when she was angry, thus becoming a fighter.

"_Gryffindor is in the lead with 230:100 points and it looks as if their seeker has seen the snitch!"_

_The cheering of the crowd grew louder and Minerva turned, distracted for a second as she looked how the two seekers raced through the air behind a small golden flash. As she turned her head she saw something black moving towards her and she no time to react until the bludger hit her in the side with full force._

_Albus covered his mouth and muffled a scream as he saw how Minerva was hit by a bludger, and then the other beater of Slytherin shot another bludger at her, aiming for her other side and also hitting his target. Minerva released a sharp cry of pain and did spin towards the ground while the Slytherin seeker used the shock of the Gryffindors to grab the snitch._

"_Slytherin is the winner!", the stadium announcer said, audibly disappointed, but Albus did not listen – he shoved himself through the crowd, making his way down to the pitch, concern flooding his body. _

_Minerva felt how her knees hit the grass and rolled off her broom, facing the sky while her vision blurred in pain. Her whole body only seemed to consist of pain, throbbing through her rips, a sharp presence that made it hard to breath. Suddenly she felt smooth hands touching her cheeks and she forced herself to focus her vision, therefore looking into the blue eyes of Albus._

"_Love, lie still. Everything will be okay!"_

_She felt tears of pain swelling up in her green eyes and she felt broken as she heard the cheers and laughter of the Slytherins. They were laughing about her, everybody knew that, and it felt horrible. Minerva closed her eyes and tried to block out the Slytherins, the fact that her pride as a Gryffindor was receiving major cracks. She concentrated on the feeling of Albus' fingers as they gently touched her hands and on his encouraging words, but she could not hold back a few sobs. That damn Cup had been her dream, she had worked so hard to achieve this and now..._

_He never left her side and spent the whole night in the hospital wing, sitting by her bed, trying to comfort her in her disappointment. And this night, he finally found the courage to tell her about his feelings._

Albus looked up as Minerva cheered loudly and smiled while Severus' shoulders sank and Albus knew that Gryffindor had won. He knew that every time she could be triumphant over Snape and his house team erased some of the negative feelings that she had held since she was 17. Her pride, as intact it always seemed, had needed some time to rebuild, still today.

"Hah, see you next year, Severus!", Minerva grinned and for a second Albus thought the young Minerva was standing in front of him, not influenced by this nasty Quidditch game yet.

"My dear, congratulations!", he said and took her hand, brushing his lips across her knuckles. She smiled at him, knowing what this win meant to her and she was once more happy to have Albus, someone who knew and surprisingly loved every single one of her flaws. She hooked her arm under the one offered by him and they went to celebrate the triumph together in quiet.


End file.
